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I just returned from 5 lovely days in paradise. For the fifth consecutive year, my wife and I travelled to Hawaii for the Orthopedics Today Hawaii course. As is usually the case, I didn’t recognize how much of a vacation I needed until I actually took one.
Orthopedics can be intoxicating. The surgeries and the satisfaction we derive from our efforts to help patients can be addicting. Thus it is easy to lose balance in one’s life. Sleep gets compromised, hobbies dwindle and we tend to jettison exercise. Most importantly, relationships suffer. We simply drift away from friends, family and especially … our spouses.
The travel time to Hawaii seems daunting but getting far away was precisely what my wife and I needed. There were no familiar surroundings, no hospitals, no local newspapers or radio stations. Even the time zone change forced us to “reset the clock.”
I was careful this year not to attend every session. Since I don’t do much in the way of arthroplasty surgery anymore, I gladly traded the total joint lectures for a spectacular drive along the northern and eastern coast of Maui. My wife and I needed dedicated couples time. Vacations afford you the opportunity to reinstate the habit of regular exercise. Exercise staves off chronic disease and improves mood. Your life depends on it!
The great Supreme Court Justice Benjamin Cardoza once said: “I can do seven days of work in six, but not seven.” We all need time to recharge. Vacations are not just ‘recommended’ … they are essential. In fact the famous Framingham heart study showed women who took vacations every 6 years or less were eight times more likely to develop heart disease or have a heart attack than those who vacationed twice a year. We all need to rest our nervous system from the continual “on demand” mode we seem to have all embraced. Furthermore, we must re invest in our marriages so that the memories and emotional deposits get us through the challenging times.
Vacations promote wellness, enhance our happiness, help restore fitness and repair wounded relationships. The time away will actually increase your long term productivity.
Now book your flight for a couple’s get away. Aloha!